editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Shankar Vedantam is NPR's social science correspondent and the host of the Hidden Brain podcast. The focus of his reporting is on human behavior and the social sciences, and how research in those fields can get listeners to think about the news in unusual and interesting ways. Before joining NPR in 2011, Vedantam spent 10 years as a reporter at The Washington Post . From 2007 to 2009, he was also a columnist, and wrote the Department of Human Behavior column for the Post. Vedantam writes an occasional column for Slate called "Hidden Brain." Throughout his career, Vedantam has been recognized with many journalism honors including awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors, the South Asian Journalists Association, the Asian American Journalists Association, the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, and the American Public Health Association. In 2009-2010, Vedantam served as a fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism atNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Shankar VedantamTue, 27 Jun 2017 09:24:51 +0000Shankar Vedantamhttp://redriverradio.org
Shankar VedantamTurn on the TV, and you'll find no shortage of people who claim to know what's going to happen: who's going to get picked for the NBA draft, who will win the next election, which stocks will go up or down. These pundits and prognosticators all have an air of certainty. And why shouldn't they? We, as the audience, like to hear the world's complexity distilled into simple, pithy accounts. It doesn't help that these commentators rarely pay a serious price when their predictions don't pan out. Lurking in the background are scores of ordinary people who do a much better job of predicting the future than the so-called experts. They're the subject of the book, Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction , co-authored by psychologist Phil Tetlock and journalist Dan Gardner. For years, Tetlock and his team of non-experts — among them, a retired irrigation specialist and former ballroom dancer — competed against the government's top intelligence officers in a forecasting tournament. TheDegrees of Maybe: How We Can All Make Better Predictionshttp://redriverradio.org/post/degrees-maybe-how-we-can-all-make-better-predictions
96245 as http://redriverradio.orgTue, 27 Jun 2017 01:00:00 +0000Degrees of Maybe: How We Can All Make Better PredictionsShankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Police in London have identified the driver of the van that drove into a group of Muslims outside a mosque yesterday. He is Darren Osborne, a 47-year-old white male. And that profile may be significant in how the media covered the attack. New social science research in the U.S. suggests that in incidents like this, the identity of the attacker has an impact on coverage. NPR's social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam explains. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: I was speaking with Erin Kearns. She's a criminologist at Georgia State University. Along with her colleagues Allison Betus and Anthony Lemieux, Kearns studied all terrorist attacks in the United States between 2011 and 2015. She found very stark differences in coverage. ERIN KEARNS: When the perpetrator is Muslim, you can expect that attack to receive about four and a half times more media coverage than if the perpetrator was not Muslim. You see that - perpetrator who isHidden Brain: Terror Strikes And An Attacker's Identity http://redriverradio.org/post/hidden-brain-terror-attacks
95917 as http://redriverradio.orgTue, 20 Jun 2017 09:07:00 +0000Hidden Brain: Terror Strikes And An Attacker's Identity Shankar VedantamPresident Trump has often accused the news media of not covering terrorist attacks adequately. In a speech in February he said, "Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino [...] It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported." New research from Erin Kearns and colleagues at Georgia State University shows that the president is right — sort of. There is a systematic bias in the way terrorism is covered — just not in the way the president thinks. Kearns says the "terrorism" label is often only applied to cases where the perpetrator is Muslim. And, those cases also receive significantly more news coverage. "When the perpetrator is Muslim, you can expect that attack to receive about four and a half times more media coverage than if the perpetrator was not Muslim," Kearns says. Put another way, "a perpetrator who is not Muslim would have to kill on average about seven more people toWhen Is It 'Terrorism'? How The Media Cover Attacks By Muslim Perpetratorshttp://redriverradio.org/post/when-it-terrorism-how-media-covers-attacks-muslim-perpetrators
95910 as http://redriverradio.orgTue, 20 Jun 2017 01:01:00 +0000When Is It 'Terrorism'? How The Media Cover Attacks By Muslim PerpetratorsShankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit LAKSHMI SINGH, HOST: We tend to like stories of leaders who have big ideas and strong convictions, the kind of visionaries who stop at nothing in pursuing their goals. But what happens when a leader's vision is the wrong one? NPR's Shankar Vedantam brings us the story of an ambitious surgeon who was a pioneer in his field and also made a grave mistake. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: From a very early age, Don Laub was driven by a big idea. He wanted to help people. He wanted to help a lot of people. As a small child, when kids in high school were asked to donate money to a charity, his classmates contribution a dime. Don worked in a vegetable garden an entire summer to raise a whopping $10. DON LAUB: Now, I got a letter that my mother wrote for some of her friends saying Don has done something that nobody has ever done. VEDANTAM: Don's father feared his little boy was consumed with being a do-gooder and would turn out to be a failure in business. HisThe Triumphs And Perils Of 'Going Big'http://redriverradio.org/post/what-happens-when-leaders-vision-wrong-one
95524 as http://redriverradio.orgSun, 11 Jun 2017 21:46:00 +0000The Triumphs And Perils Of 'Going Big'Shankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: So when you recycle paper or an empty bottle, do you get that warm little feeling because maybe you think, hey, I've done something right for the world? Well, maybe you shouldn't get that feeling because there's some new social science research out there that suggests recycling can have a downside. Why are you always bringing negative news? SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: (Laughter). MARTIN: Shankar Vedantam, NPR social science correspondent, here to rain on our recycling parade. Hi, Shankar. VEDANTAM: Hi, Rachel. MARTIN: So recycling is bad? VEDANTAM: No, recycling isn't bad. It's actually very good, Rachel. But in fact, that's where the problem lies. Recycling is so good that it makes us feel virtuous, and that can lead to problematic outcomes. Let me back up and explain. I was talking to Remi Trudel. He's a marketing professor at Boston University. He told me he was having lunch at a restaurant with his colleague, Monic Sun, whenWhy Recycling Options Lead People To Waste Morehttp://redriverradio.org/post/why-recycling-options-lead-people-waste-more
95076 as http://redriverradio.orgFri, 02 Jun 2017 09:02:00 +0000Why Recycling Options Lead People To Waste MoreShankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: We have a revelation this morning about how people spread disease. You've seen this happen - your co-worker gets sick and then you do. Well, this is a story about malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes. But in some places, it appears that the mosquitoes have help from human illegal activity. NPR's social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam is here with a story of crime and illness. Hi, Shankar. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Hi, Steve. INSKEEP: Sounds like a newly discovered novel by Dostoyevsky, but go on. Go on. VEDANTAM: (Laughter) Well, this piece of social science research actually does read a little bit like the plot of a novel, Steve. I was speaking with Sandra Rozo. She's an economist at the University of Southern California. She told me that on visits to Colombia, she noticed newspaper stories that drew a connection between two very different things - illegal gold mines and malaria. INSKEEP: Illegal gold mines - what'sHow Illegal Gold Mining Relates To The Spread Of Malariahttp://redriverradio.org/post/how-illegal-gold-mining-relates-spread-malaria
93939 as http://redriverradio.orgWed, 10 May 2017 08:54:00 +0000How Illegal Gold Mining Relates To The Spread Of MalariaShankar VedantamAmericans have long expressed their political views with their wallets, but in recent months, this phenomenon has made national news. A campaign called #grabyourwallet has targeted brands affiliated with Donald Trump. And the Trump camp has responded in kind, with one of his closest aides encouraging people to support his daughter Ivanka's brand. Neeru Paharia is a researcher at Georgetown University , and she says this kind of economic activity can make us feel powerful. "It seems like people are a little fed up and disillusioned with conventional political channels," Paharia says. "In the absence of that legitimacy there has been sort of a rise in political consumerism." We might think that we use money mostly to satisfy economic needs, but Paharia has found in her research that we often aim to satisfy psychological ones — whether that means driving a fancy car to show off our social status, or buying coffee at the local shop instead of a chain to express our moral values. But whileBoycotts And Buycotts: How We Use Money To Express Ourselves http://redriverradio.org/post/boycotts-and-buycotts-how-we-use-money-express-ourselves
93199 as http://redriverradio.orgTue, 25 Apr 2017 01:01:00 +0000Boycotts And Buycotts: How We Use Money To Express Ourselves Shankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: And so if you are taking part in a protest, is your message getting out? Are you having an impact? It turns out what you think is happening might not be reality. And let's talk about that with NPR's social science correspondent, Shankar Vedantam, who's back in our studios. Hey, Shankar. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Hi, David. GREENE: So what are these researchers actually testing here? VEDANTAM: Well, the researchers wanted to study what happens when people protest. We all have intuitions about the effectiveness of protests, and protesters certainly have those intuitions as well. This was an attempt to actually measure whether those intuitions were accurate. I was speaking with Robb Willer. He's a sociologist and psychologist at Stanford University. Along with his colleagues, Matthew Feinberg and Chloe Kovacheff, Willer found that many protesters tend to equate being effective with getting a lot of attention from the public andResearchers Examine The Psychology Of Protest Movementshttp://redriverradio.org/post/researchers-examine-psychology-protest-movements
92879 as http://redriverradio.orgTue, 18 Apr 2017 09:04:00 +0000Researchers Examine The Psychology Of Protest MovementsShankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: It is the season for college admissions letters to go out, which means students from across the country are frantically checking their mailboxes or inboxes in their email. If this year, though, is anything like years past, we'll continue to see a dearth of low-income students admitted to the most selective colleges. New social science research suggests a possible solution, and to explain, we're joined by NPR's social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam. Hi, Shankar. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Hi, Rachel. MARTIN: All right. What does the new research say? VEDANTAM: Well, there have been a ton of attempts to try and increase the representation of low-income students in college, Rachel. I was speaking to Michael Bastedo. He's a professor of education at the University of Michigan. He told me a lot of efforts to get more low-income students to college has focused on the students themselves. How do you get them to apply? How doHow To Get Low-Income Students Into Selective Collegeshttp://redriverradio.org/post/how-get-low-income-students-selective-colleges
92627 as http://redriverradio.orgWed, 12 Apr 2017 09:15:00 +0000How To Get Low-Income Students Into Selective CollegesShankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: If you ever tell a lie, it would be normal for your conscience to bother you. But here's a question. If you tell many lies, does that voice inside go quiet? Neuroscientists recently explored this idea. And our colleague Rachel Martin sat down to talk about it with NPR's social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Hi, Shankar. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Hey, Rachel. MARTIN: So we're talking about neuroscientists. They were studying the brain, as they are known to do. VEDANTAM: (Laughter). MARTIN: Who are they, and what did they find? VEDANTAM: So that's right. If you buy the idea that all behavior stems from the brain, Rachel, this prick of conscience that we often experience obviously has something to do with what's happening in the brain. Some months ago, Neil Garrett, Stephanie Lazzaro, Dan Ariely, and Tali Sharot conducted a very interesting study. I talked to Dan Ariely. He studies economics andThe Truth Is, Lying Might Not Be So Badhttp://redriverradio.org/post/truth-lying-might-not-be-so-bad
91897 as http://redriverradio.orgTue, 28 Mar 2017 09:34:00 +0000The Truth Is, Lying Might Not Be So BadShankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Researchers think they've found a way to fight racial discrimination on Airbnb. You know, that's the service where you go online and rent somebody else's home when you're traveling. Airbnb has been criticized because hosts on this platform are found less likely to rent their homes to African-Americans than to white guests. NPR's social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam joins us regularly on this program, and he has some new research that may point to a solution. Hi, Shankar. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Hi, Steve. INSKEEP: So remind us here, how do they find bias in the first place? VEDANTAM: There have been multiple studies about this, Steve. The most recent one comes from Dennis Zhang. He's a business researcher at Washington University in St. Louis. He recently sent out hundreds of housing requests to Airbnb hosts in Chicago, Seattle and Boston. As with previous studies along these lines, the requests were identical butNew Research Looks At Ways To Help Stop Airbnb Racial Discriminationhttp://redriverradio.org/post/new-research-looks-ways-help-stop-airbnb-racial-discrimination
90780 as http://redriverradio.orgThu, 02 Mar 2017 10:08:00 +0000New Research Looks At Ways To Help Stop Airbnb Racial DiscriminationShankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: Thousands of pedestrians in the United States are killed each year in traffic accidents. And researchers have noticed that people of color are more likely than whites to be victims. To understand what might be happening here, we're joined by NPR's social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam. Shankar, welcome back. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Hi, David. GREENE: So what is explaining this disparity? VEDANTAM: Well, researchers have been trying to tease apart this question for quite some time, David. Why are people of color as a proportion to their share of the population more likely to be pedestrian fatalities in these car crashes? There are lots of possible explanations. One is that people of color are just more likely to be pedestrians, or it might be that minority neighborhoods have less safe traffic intersections. I was speaking with Courtney Coughenour. She's a public health researcher at the University of Nevada in LasResearchers Examine Race Factor In Car Crashes Involving Pedestrianshttp://redriverradio.org/post/researchers-examine-race-factor-car-crashes-involving-pedestrians
90014 as http://redriverradio.orgWed, 15 Feb 2017 10:10:00 +0000Researchers Examine Race Factor In Car Crashes Involving PedestriansShankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: And, you know, all over the world people say they make friends by breaking bread together. There's this assumption that when you sit down to eat with one another, you become closer. Well, let's talk about that with NPR social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam, who is going to break bread with me. Hey, Shankar. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: (Laughter) Hi, David. How are you? GREENE: We've broken bread. We're already friends. VEDANTAM: Indeed. GREENE: Well, so what's this research you're looking at? VEDANTAM: Well, sitting down to eat together, David, obviously means you're sharing another person's company, but there's also something else. When you eat together, one thing that happens is that you're usually eating the same food as the other person. I was talking to Ayelet Fishbach at the University of Chicago. She told me that food has symbolic meaning all around the world. AYELET FISHBACH: I think that food really connectsWhy Eating The Same Food Increases People's Trust And Cooperationhttp://redriverradio.org/post/why-eating-same-food-increases-peoples-trust-and-cooperation
89380 as http://redriverradio.orgThu, 02 Feb 2017 09:57:00 +0000Why Eating The Same Food Increases People's Trust And CooperationShankar VedantamPresident Donald Trump's decision to temporarily ban immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees from across the globe has set off a firestorm of protest. In airports and city streets across the U.S. and beyond, people turned out by the thousands over the weekend to protest the action. In tense times, we often turn to history to understand events such as these. While we can and should learn from the past to inform our present, scholars say this process can be fraught with psychological peril. We're often inclined to draw lessons from history that suit our preconceived notions. In recent days, many people have reached for the story of the SS St. Louis. It's a story you may be familiar with: In 1939, a ship full of Jewish refugees was turned away when it reached the shores of Cuba and then the United States. This week we speak with historian Deborah Lipstadt, a professor of religion at Emory University. She researches the Holocaust and the global response to JewishFortress America: What We Can — And Can't — Learn From Historyhttp://redriverradio.org/post/fortress-america-what-we-can-and-cant-learn-history
89253 as http://redriverradio.orgTue, 31 Jan 2017 05:00:00 +0000Fortress America: What We Can — And Can't — Learn From HistoryShankar VedantamResearchers have long been confused by what seems like a paradox: many people in America vote against their economic self-interests. Whether it's the working class conservative who wants a tax cut for the wealthy, or a member of the liberal elite who fights for safety nets that raise his own taxes — we don't always act in the way that would help us the most. In her new book, Strangers in Their Own Land , sociologist Arlie Hochschild tackles this paradox. She says that while people might vote against their economic needs, they're actually voting to serve their emotional needs. Hochschild says that both conservative and liberals have "deep stories" — about who they are, and what their values are. Deep stories don't need to be completely accurate, but they have to feel true. They're the stories we tell ourselves to capture our hopes, pride, disappointments, fears, and anxieties. Hochschild spent years in Louisiana trying to understand the deep stories of conservative, white, heterosexual,Strangers in Their Own Land: The 'Deep Story' of Trump Supportershttp://redriverradio.org/post/strangers-their-own-land-deep-story-trump-supporters
88899 as http://redriverradio.orgTue, 24 Jan 2017 05:00:00 +0000Strangers in Their Own Land: The 'Deep Story' of Trump SupportersShankar VedantamIf you've ever visited the palm-lined neighborhoods of Beverly Hills, you've probably noticed that the rich and famous aren't the only ones drawn there. Stargazers also flock to this exclusive enclave, seeking a chance to peer into — and fantasize about — the lives of movie stars and film directors. Call it adulation, adoration, idolization: we humans are fascinated by glamour and power. But this turns out to be only one side of our psychology. Many of us hate the rich and powerful precisely because they are rich and powerful, and we secretly enjoy when they are toppled from their pedestals. Take, for example, the incident last fall in which five men robbed Kim Kardashian at gunpoint. Many people were sympathetic to her ordeal, but plenty of others mocked her on social media. Andrea McDonnell, a communications professor who studies celebrity culture, has a theory about that. She says we love seeing a window into the glamorous world of Kim, but we simultaneously resent her for seeminglyCoronations, Coups, And Keeping Up With The Kardashianshttp://redriverradio.org/post/coronations-coups-and-keeping-kardashians
88529 as http://redriverradio.orgTue, 17 Jan 2017 05:00:00 +0000Coronations, Coups, And Keeping Up With The KardashiansShankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: All right, I'm going to admit something that might get me in some hot water, but there are parts of parenting young kids that I find really boring. There, I said it. But it's true. You've got to read the same books every night. You've got to play the same games. I've got to eat chicken nuggets and broccoli every night. NPR's Shankar Vedantam is here to help me through the boredom of parenting. Hi, Shankar. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: (Laughter). Hi, Rachel. How are you? MARTIN: I'm well. And I don't want anyone to get the impression that I don't love my children, and I appreciate all the time we spend, but it is hard. There are parts of parenting that are boring, and I need your help. VEDANTAM: That's right. So what we're going to do now Rachel is we're going to read "Goodnight Moon" for the next three minutes over and over again to see if you can tolerate it. No, actually.... MARTIN: No, let's not do that. VEDANTAM: (Laughter).How Do You Keep From Getting Bored? Researchers Have An Answerhttp://redriverradio.org/post/how-do-you-keep-getting-bored-researchers-have-answer
87657 as http://redriverradio.orgTue, 27 Dec 2016 12:30:00 +0000How Do You Keep From Getting Bored? Researchers Have An AnswerShankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: So we know that a picture speaks a thousand words, but NPR's Shankar Vedantam is here to tell us how it also gives us really strong impressions of people that we can't seem to shake. Hi, Shankar. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Hi, Rachel. MARTIN: So what is this? A new study, I'm guessing, because that's what you do. You bring us new studies. VEDANTAM: That's exactly right. I mean, and the first part of the study won't come as a surprise to you, Rachel. We form impressions of people from photographs. MARTIN: Yeah. VEDANTAM: These impressions are very quick, and we not only see superficial things, we read meaning into photographs. We draw inferences about someone's personality from the way they look in a photo. I was speaking with Vivian Zayas. She is a psychologist at Cornell University. She said most of us know that photos have a very powerful effect on us, but most of us also believe that we can update our initial impressionsResearchers Examine Whether First Impressions Are Lastinghttp://redriverradio.org/post/researchers-examine-whether-first-impressions-are-lasting
87477 as http://redriverradio.orgThu, 22 Dec 2016 12:33:00 +0000Researchers Examine Whether First Impressions Are LastingShankar VedantamCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Let's say you're at a party or walking down the street and suddenly out of a sea of passing faces one of them lights up. Someone is looking right at you, waving, saying hello, they're happy to see you and you have no idea who this person is. Some of us are really good at recognizing faces. Others of us are not. To explain why, here's our social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam from NPR's Hidden Brain podcast. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Marty Doerschlag has a super power that I would love to have. He can remember a face forever. MARTY DOERSCHLAG: If I spend about 30 seconds looking at somebody, I will remember their face for years and years and years. VEDANTAM: His wife Julie says one time they were in Las Vegas sitting down for dinner at a restaurant and Marty looked at the waiter. JULIE DOERSCHLAG: He's like, oh, you waited on me in Columbus, Ohio, in X year. The guy just froze. And then he's like, oh, yeah - and I don'tResearchers Explore The Struggle Of Recognizing Faceshttp://redriverradio.org/post/researchers-explore-struggle-recognizing-faces
86279 as http://redriverradio.orgThu, 24 Nov 2016 23:27:00 +0000Researchers Explore The Struggle Of Recognizing FacesShankar VedantamThe election of Donald Trump came as a shock to many Americans, but perhaps most of all to those in the business of calling elections. The pollsters on both the left and the right had confidently predicted Hillary Clinton would walk away with the race. They got it wrong. But one man did not: Allan Lichtman. On Sept. 23, Lichtman, a historian at American University, declared that Trump would win, and he stuck by that call through the tumultuous final weeks of the campaign. Lichtman's predictions are based on what he calls "keys." These are a series of 13 true-or-false questions designed, in his words, "to gauge the strength and performance of the party holding the White House." Lichtman says elections are basically a judgment on how well the government has governed. The rest of the election season hoopla he dismisses as practically meaningless. "All the twists and turns of the campaign, the ads, the speeches the campaign tricks, the debates count for little or nothing on Election Day,"What Happened? How Pollsters, Pundits And Politics Got It Wronghttp://redriverradio.org/post/what-happened-how-pollsters-pundits-and-politics-got-it-wrong
85801 as http://redriverradio.orgTue, 15 Nov 2016 05:00:00 +0000What Happened? How Pollsters, Pundits And Politics Got It Wrong